The ARRL Letter
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
July 7, 2011
Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
ARRL Home Page ARRL Letter Archive
Audio News
IN THIS ISSUE
- + 2011 Second Meeting of the ARRL Board of Directors Set for July
15-16, Agenda Announced
- FCC News: FCC Issues Citation to Canadian Company for Marketing
Unauthorized Devices in US
- + Ham Radio in Hollywood: Another Hollywood Blockbuster Features
Amateur Radio
- ARRL Hosts Webinar on Amateur Radio Response to Hurricanes
- + Check Out the August Issue of QST
- ARRL In Action: What Have We Been Up to Lately?
- + Space Weather Prediction Center to Continue Broadcasts on WWV and
WWVH
- Solar Update
- + ARRL Recognizes: Kazimierz "Kai" Siwiak, KE4PT, Wins June QST Cover
Plaque Award
- This Week on the Radio
- Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
+ Available on ARRL Audio News
> + 2011 SECOND MEETING OF THE ARRL BOARD OF DIRECTORS SET FOR JULY
15-16, AGENDA ANNOUNCED
ARRL policy is made by its Board of Directors. The 15 voting members
of the Board are the Directors who are elected by the ARRL members in
their respective divisions. The Board meets in January and July,
usually in the Hartford area. ARRL members also elect Vice Directors
who may attend the meetings. ARRL Directors and Vice Directors are
volunteers who work hard to represent the ARRL in their divisions, to
represent the members who elect them on policy issues and to conduct
the committee work that is so important to good decision-making. This
month's Board Meeting activities will begin on Thursday, July 14 with
meetings of two standing committees, the Administration & Finance (A&F)
Committee and the Programs & Services Committee. Each is made up of
five Directors and a Vice Director, with the treasurer serving as an
additional member of the A&F Committee. Read more here
.
> FCC NEWS: FCC ISSUES CITATION TO CANADIAN COMPANY FOR MARKETING
UNAUTHORIZED DEVICES IN US
On July 6, the FCC issued a Citation to New Generation Hobbies of
Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada, for marketing unauthorized radio frequency
devices in the United States that operate on restricted frequencies.
This is in violation of Section 302(b) of the Communications Act and
Sections 2.803 and 15.205(a) of the FCC's rules. In the Citation, the
FCC advised New Generation Hobbies to "take immediate steps to come
into compliance and to avoid any recurrence of this misconduct. As
explained [in the Citation] and as provided in the Communications Act,
future violations of the Rules in this regard may subject [the] company
to substantial monetary penalties, seizure of equipment and criminal
sanctions."
The FCC acted in response to a complaint alleging that New Generation
was marketing certain video transmitters that operate on restricted
frequencies in the 2.4 GHz band. In September 2009, the FCC sent a
Letter of Inquiry to New Generation. At that time, the FCC Spectrum
Enforcement Division observed that New Generation was marketing two 2.4
GHz transmitters on its website: the LawMate 500 mW 2.4 GHz transmitter
and the LawMate 1 W 2.4 GHz transmitter. The Amateur Radio Service is
allocated portions of the 2.4 GHz band on a primary basis. Read more
here
.
> + HAM RADIO IN HOLLYWOOD: ANOTHER HOLLYWOOD BLOCKBUSTER FEATURES
AMATEUR RADIO
The summer of 2011 is replete with big movies, ranging from
action-adventure flicks to comedies to coming-of-age dramas. And
already this summer, Amateur Radio has played a part in not one, but
two movies. In Mr Popper's Penguins, ham radio was featured, albeit
incorrectly, on the big screen. And now Super 8 -- a film set just
outside Dayton, Ohio in 1979 -- uses Amateur Radio in a crucial scene.
Super 8 revolves around a group of six middle-schoolers who witnesses a
mysterious train crash in the fictional town of Lillian. Soon after the
crash, the Air Force arrives and strange things start happening in the
small town. The kids, a group of young film makers (hence the title of
the movie) begin to investigate the creepy phenomena. Read more here
.
> ARRL HOSTS WEBINAR ON AMATEUR RADIO RESPONSE TO HURRICANES
The ARRL will host a webinar from 8-9:30 PM (EDT) on July 7 to
present information about the 2011 hurricane season and the Amateur
Radio response. This webinar was organized by ARRL Directors N3LLR,
K5MC, W4OZK and K5RAV. The program will offer presentations from
representatives from the National Hurricane Center and WX4NHC, the VoIP
Hurricane Net, the Hurricane Watch Net and the ARRL. Webinar
registration is open to all, but will be of particular interest to
those amateurs in hurricane-prone areas. If you are interested in
emergency communications and hurricane preparedness and response, you
are invited to attend this online presentation. Read more here
.
> + CHECK OUT THE AUGUST ISSUE OF QST
The August issue of QST is jam-packed with all sorts of things that
today's Amateur Radio operator needs. From product reviews to
experiments to contesting, this issue of QST has something for just
about everyone.
When you support your vertical antenna from the top, you open up a
lot of possibilities. That's what Bob Glorioso, W1IS, found when he
decided to support his monopole antenna from the top and do away with
ground radials. Find out how he did it in his article "A Suspended
Quarter Wave 40 Meter Wire Vertical Monopole." William E. Johnson,
W0MS, takes a new twist on a classic QRP transmitter in his article "A
Modified MouseFET Low Power Transmitter." You, too, can build this
updated version of a classic HF CW low power transmitter.
Boy Scouting and adventure go hand-in-hand, so it's no wonder that Boy
Scout Troop 6 of Monument, Colorado had a blast GeoFoxing in the Rocky
Mountains. GeoFoxing combines Amateur Radio Direction Finding -- also
called foxhunting -- with geocaching. Assistant Scoutmaster Stu Turner,
W0STU, found a terrific way to involve youth in Amateur Radio. Find out
how you can do the same in his article "GeoFox Radiosport Rally." Join
QST Editor Steve Ford, WB8IMY, as he takes readers along to the 2011
Dayton Hamvention® and the 2011 ARRL National Convention in Plano,
Texas. Ford also checks out some of the newest Amateur Radio products
that debuted at Hamvention.
QST Technical Editor Joel Hallas, W1ZR, takes a look at the Ten-Tec
Model 599AT Eagle HF and 6 meter transceiver in this month's Product
Review. He says that this rig "brings together a very good receiver in
a compact footprint HF and 6 meter transceiver with minimal menus and
controls." Hallas also checks out the Ten-Tec 777 DX PRO headset. He
says this headset is "the perfect choice for an operator looking for a
comfortable high-quality boom mic headset that can provide fine
sounding audio without the need for external equalization."
Nate Moreschi, N4YDU, delivers the results of the 2011 ARRL
International DX CW Contest. Calling it "an intense competition,"
Moreschi said that there were several records broken in the contest, as
well as many tight races. For instance, in the W/VE Multioperator/Multi
Transmitter category, the first place team won by only 28 QSOs and 8
multipliers. "Over a 48 hour period, that's just more than half a
contact per hour and less than two tenths of a multiplier per hour -
pretty close," Moreschi explained.
Of course, there are the usual columns you know and expect in the
August QST: Happenings, Hints & Kinks, The Doctor Is IN, How's DX,
Vintage Radio and more. Look for your August issue in your mailbox. QST
is the official journal of ARRL, the national association for Amateur
Radio. QST is just one of the many benefits of ARRL membership. To join
or renew your ARRL membership, please see the ARRL web page
.
> ARRL IN ACTION: WHAT HAVE WE BEEN UP TO LATELY?
This feature is a concise monthly update of some of the things that
the ARRL is doing on behalf of its members. This installment -- which
covers the month of June -- looks at ARRL Field Day, reviews the ARRL's
formal working agreements with served agencies, getting ready for
WRC-12, preparing online courses, hosting workshops for utility company
employees, seeking input from members regarding VHF/UHF contest
participations, reports from the Official Observer Desk and more. Read
more here
.
> + SPACE WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER TO CONTINUE BROADCASTS ON WWV AND
WWVH
In April 2011, the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC
) informed the public that as of
September 6, 2011, it would no longer broadcast its geophysical alert
message on WWV
and WWVH
. The ARRL has now learned that
the SWPC will keep broadcasting these messages that inform listeners of
the solar flux, the mid-latitude A and K indices and space weather
storms, both current and predicted. Due to listener feedback, the SWPC
is considering updating the broadcast; in addition to providing the
current daily solar flux at 2800 MHz, the SWPC is considering adding
more frequent observations at 2695 MHz. According to the SWPC website
. other improvements to the message
content will also be evaluated.
> SOLAR UPDATE
Tad "The Sun is shining down
" Cook, K7RA, reports: The
average daily sunspot numbers for the past week dropped less than a
point -- from 42 to 41.6 -- compared to the previous week, while the
average daily solar flux was down more than 5 points to 86.2. The
predicted solar flux for the near term is lower than of late, with
values for July 7-13 at 84, 82, 84, 86, 88, 90, 92, and then 90 on July
14-17, then 88 on July 18-21. The predicted planetary A index for July
7-12 is 8, 10, 5, 5, 7 and 7, followed by 6 on July 13-18. This is
followed by a rise in geomagnetic activity on July 19-24, with
planetary A index at 7, 8, 12, 15, 10 and 7. The latest smoothed
sunspot number prediction
on page 13 shows the
numbers for December 2010 through December 2011 slightly lower. Last
month's prediction showed smoothed sunspot numbers for that period at
30, 34, 38, 41, 45, 49, 54, 59, 63, 66, 68, 71 and 74. The latest has
the values for those same months changed to 29, 32, 36, 39, 43, 47, 52,
57, 61, 64, 66, 69 and 72. The reason that in July we see last
December's number change is because the smoothed sunspot number
represents an average of data over one year. The data for approximately
six months after December 2010 wasn't completely known until the end of
June, and each successive month after that contains one more month of
predicted data, instead of data that is actually measured. Look for
more information on the ARRL website on Friday, July 8. For more
information concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL Technical
Information Service Propagation page
. This week's "Tad
Cookism" is brought to you by Bowling for Soup's Greatest Day
.
> + ARRL RECOGNIZES: KAZIMIERZ "KAI" SIWIAK, KE4PT, WINS JUNE QST
COVER PLAQUE AWARD
The winner of the QST Cover Plaque Award for June is Kazimierz "Kai"
Siwiak, KE4PT, for his article "Is There an Optimum Height for an HF
Antenna?" Congratulations Kai! The QST Cover Plaque award -- given to
the author or authors of the best article in each issue -- is
determined by a vote of ARRL members on the QST Cover Plaque Poll Web
page . Cast a ballot for your
favorite article in the July issue today.
> THIS WEEK ON THE RADIO
This week:
- July 8 -- QRP Fox Hunt
- July 9 -- FISTS Summer Sprint
- July 9-10 -- IARU HF World Championship
- July 10 -- SKCC Weekend Sprint; ARCI Summer Homebrew Sprint
- July 13-14 -- CWops Mini-CWT Test
Next week:
- July 16 -- Feld Hell Sprint
- July 16-17 -- DMC RTTY Contest; CWops Mini-CWT Test; CQ Worldwide VHF
Contest; North American QSO Party (RTTY)
- July 17 -- CQC Great Colorado Gold Rush
- July 18 -- Run for the Bacon QRP Contest
- July 21 -- NAQCC Straight Key/Bug Sprint
All dates, unless otherwise stated, are UTC. See the ARRL Contest
Branch page , the ARRL Contest Update
and the WA7BNM Contest
Calendar for more
information. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure to check out
the ARRL Special Event Stations Web page
.
> UPCOMING ARRL SECTION, STATE AND DIVISION CONVENTIONS AND EVENTS
- July 15-17 -- ARRL Montana State Convention
,
Essex, Montana
- July 29-30 -- ARRL Oklahoma State Convention
,
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- August 5-6 -- ARRL Texas State Convention
,
Austin, Texas
- August 5-7 -- ARRL Rocky Mountain Division Convention
,
Taos, New Mexico; ARRL Midwest Division Convention
, Cedar
Rapids, Iowa
- August 20 -- ARRL West Virginia State Convention
,
Weston, West Virginia
- August 20-21 -- ARRL Alabama State Convention
,
Huntsville, Alabama
- August 21 -- ARRL Kansas State Convention
, Salina,
Kansas
- August 28 -- ARRL Western Pennsylvania Section Convention
,
New Kensington, Pennsylvania
- September 9-11 -- ARRL Southwestern Division Convention
,
Torrance, California
- September 11 -- ARRL Great Lakes Division Convention
,
Findlay, Ohio
- September 17 -- ARRL Roanoke Division Convention
,
Virginia Beach, Virginia
- September 24 -- ARRL Washington State Convention
,
Spokane Valley, Washington
To find a convention or hamfest near you, click here
.
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